Don't you get it yet? The war effort is secondary to the cash collection process run by cheney and his BLACK OPS HORDE. Sorry military but the contractors do lead you in civilian killings, but this is not a ball game is it? Score of Gen. Betrayus 0 Number of his failed tasks in Iraq 3...back to you DOUG

This war has shown one thing very clearly.....we do not have an adequate military force under the volunteer system, for dealing with wars.

The reason they hire these mercenary firms, is they don't have adequate military personnel to handle those tasks.

We should recognize this problem, and re-evaluate the volunteer system. The draft system was far more fair, in terms of all citizens serving the country, and not just those who can't find another job.

This Blackwater group of mercernaries composed of ex-servicemen who kill with impunity, is nothing but a means for Bush to reward his cronies. The War is about Oil and raping of America's treasury by Bush's cronies.

Apparently you don't get it yet either. These contractors are hired because they can do the job cheaper than the military can. People across the nation are clamoring for reduced spending on the war and troop withdrawls. If the US were to remove civilian contractors, the military would have to take over these duties. That would make the cost of the war GO UP and the number of troops deployed in the region WOULD ALSO GO UP. You can't have it both ways.

Finally ... the correct term is being used. Companies like Blackwater are MERCENARY SOLDIERS. It's a euphemism to always call them "private security firms."

In my opinion use of "private" security is a necessary evil in the big scheme of things.

Why should we have Soldiers running around a battlefield escorting "US Officials?" As it is our ground forces in Iraq is stretched thin....we do have a surge operations going on right now. Besides our Soldiers primary role is to wage war(every Soldier an Infantryman first) and not to perform the role of a security detail.

If the State Department chooses to hire private security....there are ROE (Rules of Engagement) or procedures on use of force in place to minimize collateral damage to civilians or engaging enemy combatants.

Lets not jump into conclusions until a full report has been investigated by the State Department. Anytime that there is an incident, it has to be reported and investigated, let the folks on the ground do their work and report what went wrong (if any) and recommendations to avoid future occurances.

These contractors know how to handle the nuts in Iraq. Unfortunately, all the know-it-alls, who have never set foot there, will put these guys down.
They risk their lives everday for the various pompous politicians who nosey around.

"The reason they hire these mercenary firms" ...is to stuff the pockets of Halliburton, Blackwater and other such corporate entities under the protection of Dick "Warbucks" Cheney. That is all. This administration does not want a draft, because that would create accounability as it did in Vietnam. This administration will institute a draft system only when it has promoted itself to a dictatorship accountable to nobody.

How can war profiteers hurt the war effort? I thought that rewarding war profiteers were the whole reason for the war effort.

There is no such thing as a "necessary evil". Evil is never "necessary" - but only convenient to other evil purposes.

Blackwater claims they are an extension of the military. They go around with the military and they shoot and kill people (many innocent) which has nothing to do with Security! Congress can't get any information on or from them, and you would think everyone in the government works for George Bush and has no accountability! That goes with all the money we have spent as well.

We know Iraq is a failed policy anmd war that has killed thousands for NO reason except oil! We know that "protect our assets" that Clinton and Obama were talking about, and additionally is the line fromthe Iraqi Task Force recommentdation is nothing more than protecting Exxons assets! NOW WE HAVE a Prsident of the United States with his own private army! That is not acceptable, and it is time George left as he has never, ever told anyone the truth and he wants to start a war with Iran! Get him OUT of office, or stop his authority that the Congress alloweb him to USURP! This is a total nightmare!

Boy I am glad the military is getting outsourced because if the blackwater losers can do the job cheaper than the grunt, think of the money we be saving...

Anyone who has satellite, watch "Iraq for Sale'. It will open your eyes.

And how come people keep saying that contractors cost less then soldiers.

News flash, contractors usually rake in 10 times what a soldier makes.

What has hurt the war effort is the undermining of it from the start by the Democrats and the News Media. More liberal hypocrisy.

Dont EVEN push the failing war off on the contractors, although they too had a part in it. The failing war is due to a failing REASON to go to war! You can only make people MURDER OTHERS for so long without a just cause... then eventually they will reject the cause.

bushies et al MUST be IMPEACHED!!!
the armed forces are becoming a NON-force! Bring BACK the DRAFT!!!

did we have "guns for hire" during Vietnam? Korea? WWII???

Yet another sad dimension to an already disastrous American foreign policy. Start packing your bags GOP self righteous, self serving, self enriching, corporate lap dog sell outs. Inauguration Day is Independence Day!

"News flash, contractors usually rake in 10 times what a soldier makes."

Unfortunately, the economics isn't that simple. In order to wage a military operation, you must train the soldiers, pay them, house them, feed them, arm them, and transport them. Then you have to purchase, maintain, and fuel the vehicles to transport them. Then you have to do all of that again for the multitude of staff necessary to support an active military combat unit.

When you look at the total cost of such extensive operations, you will see that even though a single contractor makes more than a single soldier, the total cost of the contract is far less than what it would cost the military to perform these duties themselves.

Military personnel are not trained to be armed escorts for diplomats (nor should they be), they are trained to wage war. When foreign dignitaries visit the US, do you see them being escorted around by the military? No. You see them being handled by the Secret Service and local Police. Why is that? Because they are properly trained and equipped to perform that task.

The concept here is called outsourcing. Ask any economist, and they will all tell you the same thing: People outsource work for three main reasons: cost, resources, and expertise. This is true for goverment agencies, mega corperations, and self-owned businesses. Furthermore, companies have to compete against each other to win those contracts, and that drives the cost down even further.

Don't forget that PR Petraeus testified that the mercenaries were an essential part of our "strategy" in Iraq.

SEN. MCCAIN: And yet, your numbers by any estimate or formula that you
use, that you're receiving, are either inadequate or bare minimum. Does
that concern you?

GEN. PETRAEUS: It does, sir. ... However, there are tens of thousands of contract security forces and ministerial security forces that do, in fact, guard facilities and secure institutions, and so forth, that our forces --coalition or Iraqi forces -- would otherwise have to guard and secure.
And so that does give me the reason to believe that we can accomplish the mission in Baghdad with the additional forces.

What has hurt the war effort is the undermining of it from the start by the Democrats and the News Media. More liberal hypocrisy.

Posted by: John K. | Sep 27, 2007 5:56:19 PM

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What has undermined the war effort is the monumental incomptence our the people behind the war. Here's just one example:

We have no idea what kind of ethnic strife might appear in the future, although as I have noted, it has not been the history of Iraq's past.

PAUL WOLFOWITZ, FEBRUARY 27, 2003*

*At that time, Wolfowitz was the Deputy Secretary of Defense